24/05/2017 - JEHOSHAPHAT’S MISTAKE

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Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and by marriage he allied himself with Ahab. 2 Chronicles 18:1

All was going well with the son of King Asa, that descended from David, his great-great-grandfather. However he didn’t think straight and most probably, without praying to know and confirm God’s will he joined affinity with King Ahab of Israel’s family. He did not reflect that Ahab and Jezebel worshipped and served other gods, promoting demonic cults in the Land that the Lord had given His children. The families had the same roots but did not serve and worship the same God!

Matrimony is truly something very serious as it can draw millions of His sons and daughters away from the Most High. Then under the power of evil, they will have their lives destroyed by Satan, since they abandoned the inexhaustible fountainhead of living waters and dug themselves some leaking water holes. The mistake might seem pleasant to start with but the ending is always bitter. Chose to fear the Lord!

Further on we will examine how this mistake took pain and destruction to the Holy Land. It is wise to watch out so that the same thing does not repeat itself in your life. Undoubtedly, there is a high price to be paid on Earth and throughout eternity even greater – endless suffering and torment. The choice is yours. God will not obligate you to anything but if you ask for His direction, He will answer and advise you. Besides, the Lord takes great pleasure in conducting His people all the way to victory.

We don’t know what led Jehoshaphat to marry his first born to the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. But we see this as a score from Hell. Maybe it was the youth’s enchantment or passion for Athalia because she was beautiful or charming and for this reason he had asked the father for her hand in marriage. Maybe the king of Israel threw a party (Something he was an expert in doing!) and during that party the young man decided to abandon God’s principles.

The truth is that their romance should have never started. The disregard for the Lord’s principle had confirmed itself and the enemy had the rights to wreak his havoc. A slight slip is enough to begin endless suffering. What enchants and fascinates us shouldn’t always be embraced because the absence of the fear of the Lord can make us deplorable. In this generation the sons of darkness are wiser than the children of light.

Be careful not to insist in the error, for the Israelites did this to have a king and God conceded to them, but He said that it was not His will or His way. (1 Samuel 8:7) If you insist or persist in the wrong choice, the Lord will permit this but the cost of disobedience is very high. The Holy Spirit will not quarrel with you incessantly. You had better decide sooner so as not to regret and complain later. The fruits come according to the tree or plant that bore them. God can transform you into a good tree now.

Jehoshaphat didn’t know the suffering he was to undergo for having allowed their matrimony. Throughout eternity he will know how bad that foolish decision was for his descendants and for the people of Judah. Don’t allow any reprehension for you on the Day of Judgment. If there is any, nothing will exempt you from your sentence being carried out. Be wise and make the Lord happy. Amen?

In Christ, with love,

R.R. Soares